The completion of the natural gas-fired peak-load boiler plant, with a steam output of 100 tons/hour and auxiliary systems, marked the final and crucial stage of this extensive investment program implemented under the name "New Energy Concept." The program was developed over many years by engineering teams from the Agro and Energy Business Units.

Modernization efforts to align the plant’s combined heat and power facility (CHP) with the requirements of the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) began in 2014, starting with the construction of a state-of-the-art coal-fired boiler with a capacity of 140 tons of steam per hour. The new gas boiler will operate alongside this unit, built between 2014 and 2017, supplementing the steam supply depending on demand during both summer and winter seasons. During periods of lower process steam demand, it will serve as the primary steam source, and in emergencies, as a peak-load backup. This ensures reliable heat availability for internal plant needs, companies located in and around the site, and the city of Kędzierzyn-Koźle and the Bierawa municipality. The new boiler plant’s auxiliary systems have also been designed to accommodate an additional gas boiler in the future, increasing system flexibility should steam demand rise.

‘The New Energy Concept consists of a set of projects designed to recover and utilize heat generated during ammonia production to support chemical processes and energy media generation. Modernizations to the Ammonia Department’s systems, combined with the construction of the new gas-fired peak-load boiler, will ensure a secure steam management system at the plant. This project enables us to meet environmental protection requirements and align the plant with BAT conclusions,’ said Dariusz Bednorz, Vice President of the Management Board of Grupa Azoty Kędzierzyn, responsible for energy and investment.

• From 2019 to 2025, the following investments were made as part of the New Energy Concept:
• Purchase of a new boiler unit for ammonia synthesis,
• Modernization of the ammonia liquefaction unit at the Ammonia Department's Central Cooling System,
• Replacement of K-2 and K-3 steam compressors (used for compressing gaseous ammonia) with new electric compressors,
• Replacement of boiler E-102 and steam superheater E-117,
• Modernization of the partial combustion unit at the Ammonia Department,
• Purchase and installation of a new oxygen compressor,
• Construction of the peak-load backup boiler.